UPDATE 1-GE says to invest $453 mln in offshore wind

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OSLO, March 25 (Reuters) - General Electric Co. (GE.N) will
invest 340 million euros ($453 million) in offshore wind
technology in Europe until 2020, the company said on Thursday.

"Today's announcement is the beginning of our offshore wind
effort where technology and network of suppliers is located in
Europe, which is where we see the biggest growth potential," GE
said in a statement.

GE said it will build development centres in Norway, Sweden
and Germany, and manufacturing facilities for offshore wind
turbines in the United Kingdom.

GE said it would test and demonstrate a four-megawatt
machine designed for offshore wind in Norway, and invest 600
million Norwegian crowns ($99.20 million) in offshore wind power
technology in the country by 2016.
(Reporting by Oslo newsroom)